Journal of Student Research 2013

261

“Troubled Waters” Impact Study

“Troubled Waters” impact study: Student environmentalism in the Red Cedar River Basin Christopher Fox Undergraduate Student, Applied Social Science Abstract As a research initiative by the University of Wisconsin-Stout and the Tainter Menomin Lake Association, Minnesota’s Bell Museum of Natural History’s acclaimed documentary film Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story was distributed to many of the high schools and middle schools of the Red Cedar River Basin, located in West Central Wisconsin. Upon the film screenings at the various high schools and middle schools, post-screening surveys were distributed immediately afterward. The purpose of the surveys was to assess the film’s impact on students, as well as how it may influence environmental consciousness and individual and/or cooperative action in addressing environmental problems, specifically regarding phosphorus and nitrate pollution. There were 486 surveys in the initial sample size, which yielded some significant findings. Upon watching the documentary, demographic variables of gender, residence, school, age, and occupation revealed the overarching dominance of individualism over collective action in terms of respondents’ potential sustainability initiatives. Keyword(s): Water Quality, Phosphorus Pollution, Red Cedar Basin, Individualism, Cooperation. Introduction The University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of Natural History’s 2010 documentary film Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story illustrates the dangers of phosphorus and nitrate pollution in the Midwestern United States and describes citizen initiatives to generate more sustainable food production systems. The film is both thought-provoking and forward-thinking in telling